Hospital delivery versus home birth - I've done both (!) (Hospital Births)

Member Name: maria14

Product:	Hospital Births
Date:	04/01/09 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Care in the Central Delivery Unit Excellent

Disadvantages: Hospital pre and post natal care is poor and dehumanising. This can lead to increased intervention

I have had two induced deliveries in hospital and then had my third at home. I have three fantastic healthy children. Here is a compare and contrast of hospital birth and home.

I won't go into gory details. Giving birth is terrifying, painful but is also the best thing you will ever do. I also think it is the easiest part of pregnancy. The nine months of carrying before hand and the first six weeks after birth are much tougher.

In both hospital deliveries, the pre and post natal care in hospital was chaotic, sporadic and mistakes were made. The conditions on the ward were poor - women were being treated like cattle.

BUT in both cases, the care in the central delivery unit was FANTASTIC. Mistakes that had been made in the pre natal ward were picked up by the highly competent and highly motivated midwives and doctors who made the staff on the pre natal ward look like amateurs.

So when the chips were down, and I was in established labour, the NHS were fantastic. But pre and post natal care was very very poor and on both occasions, mistakes made led to greater intervention and a lengthier stay in hospital after birth. (In both cases babies were fine, but I was kept in because of the complications during delivery.)

When I became (unexpectedly) pregnant with my third child, nine years after the birth of my second, I decided on a home delivery, mainly because of the length of time I had been kept in hospital on the two previous occasions.

The first midwife I saw at a pre natal appointment was sceptical, because of previous complications. The second midwife couldn't have been more enthusiasic. Some midwifes like home births, some don't and the advice you get will depend in part on that midwife's view point.

The delivery experience was completely different. At first, it did feel as though I was working without a safety net. Plus my supermotivated home delivery specialist midwife was away on holiday when I went into labour and so I didn't have the midwife I was expecting. But Shelly was wonderful, as was Mary who arrived later, to care for the baby immediately upon birth.

It was my most painful delivery. The baby's spine was against mine, which meant that each contraction was excruciating. I dropped the gas and air nozzle in the bath and we couldn't get it going again until near the end! I had a pethidine injection (which I had picked up from the chemist the week previous.)

If I had been in hospital, I would have asked for an epidural, even though I had not had one previously. I am a tough cookie, but at times I didn't think I was able to cope. And yes, if I had been in hospital, we would have found someone who had a replacement nozzle for the gas and air!

But overall, the home delivery experience was wonderful and far far better than the hospital delivery. I felt safe and cherished throughout. After the birth they ran me a bath, and then to my surprise, after a few minutes Shelly came in and handed me my baby, so we took her first bath together.

They warmed my nightie and my knickers on the radiator for me to change into and helped me dress. The bedroom was spotless and the bed made when I came back in after my bath.

But best of all - having my husband with me on our baby's first night. The first time that had ever happened, despite having two previous babies.

My conclusion is that a competent and confident midwife is the key to a successful delivery, and you are as likely to find them in hospital as in a home delivery. But poor pre natal care in hospital did in my case lead to greater intervention on two occasions. And my home delivery was painful, but utterly wonderful and a completely different experience from being a body on an NHS ward.

Summary: At home or in the hospital, it is the skill of the midwife that is the key factor.